Comparison of Virtual Patient Simulation With Mannequin-Based Simulation for Improving Clinical Performances in Assessing and Managing Clinical Deterioration: Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

BackgroundVirtual patient simulation has grown substantially in health care education. A virtual patient simulation was developed as a refresher training course to reinforce nursing clinical performance in assessing and managing deteriorating patients.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to describe the development of the virtual patient simulation and evaluate its efficacy, by comparing with a conventional mannequin-based simulation, for improving the nursing students’ performances in assessing and managing patients with clinical deterioration.MethodsA randomized controlled study was conducted with 57 third-year nursing students who were recruited through email. After a baseline evaluation of all participants’ clinical performance in a simulated environment, the experimental group received a 2-hour fully automated virtual patient simulation while the control group received 2-hour facilitator-led mannequin-based simulation training. All participants were then re-tested one day (first posttest) and 2.5 months (second posttest) after the intervention. The participants from the experimental group completed a survey to evaluate their learning experiences with the newly developed virtual patient simulation.ResultsCompared to their baseline scores, both experimental and control groups demonstrated significant improvements (P<.001) in first and second post-test scores. While the experimental group had significantly lower (P<.05) second post-test scores compared with the first post-test scores, no significant difference (P=.94) was found between these two scores for the control group. The scores between groups did not differ significantly over time (P=.17). The virtual patient simulation was rated positively.ConclusionsA virtual patient simulation for a refreshing training course on assessing and managing clinical deterioration was developed. Although the randomized controlled study did not show that the virtual patient simulation was superior to mannequin-based simulation, both simulations have demonstrated to be effective refresher learning strategies for improving nursing students’ clinical performance. Given the greater resource requirements of mannequin-based simulation, the virtual patient simulation provides a more promising alternative learning strategy to mitigate the decay of clinical performance over time.

The effect of adult Early Warning Systems education on nurses’ knowledge, confidence and clinical performance: A systematic review

“…(). Six countries were represented across the reviewed studies with the greater numbers conducted in the United States ( n = 3), (Lindsey & Jenkins, ; Ozekcin, Tuite, Willner, & Hravnak, ; Rose, Hanna, Nur, & Johnson, ), Singapore ( n = 2) (Liaw, Chan, Chen, Hooi, & Siau, ; Liaw, Wong, Ang, et al., ; Liaw, Wong, Chan, et al., ), in hospitals ( n = 7) (Cahill et al., ; Kyriacos, Jelsma, James, & Jordan, ; Ludikhuize, De Jonge, & Goossens, ; Merriel et al., ; Ozekcin et al., ; Rose et al., ; Shaddel, Khosla, & Banerjee, ) and simulation settings ( n = 3) (Liaw, Wong, Ang, et al., ; Liaw, Wong, Chan, et al., ; Lindsey & Jenkins, ). Sample size varied between 19 (Shaddel et al., ) and 147 (Cahill et al., ) participants.…”

Tipos E Finalidades Da Simulação No Ensino De Graduação Em Enfermagem: Revisão Integrativa Da Literatura

“…Outra consideração que favorece o uso desse tipo de simulação é o tempo do corpo docente, a disponibilidade de instalações e problemas com agendamentos nos laboratórios (20) . As simulações baseadas em manequim envolvem um pequeno número de alunos de uma só vez.…”

“…As simulações baseadas em manequim envolvem um pequeno número de alunos de uma só vez. Além disso, uma quantidade considerável de tempo de faculdade é necessária para realizar sessões repetidas (20) . Tanto a simulação com paciente virtual quanto a simulação baseada em manequim são estratégias eficazes de aprendizagem para melhorar o desempenho clínico dos estudantes de enfermagem (20) .…”

Strengthening the afferent limb of rapid response systems: an educational intervention using web-based learning for early recognition and responding to deteriorating patients

“…Although previous studies have also shown the effectiveness of using simulation in training for acute care,35 36 the availability of simulation facilities and logical issues of scheduling the learners and facilitators remain a major challenge,18 40 especially for institutions where large groups of learners are required to be trained. Computer systems now allow the incorporation of a variety of instructional activities that provide active learning.…”

“…A previous study has shown this strategy to be at least as good as, if not better than, the mannequin-based simulation 18. An interactive web-based educational programme was therefore developed for hospital nurses to enhance their competencies in acute nursing care 19.…”